Editor’s Update, August 9, 2018: Please note: the text regarding the refurbishment has been removed from Disney World’s website and the dates mentioned in this post are now open for booking. It appears that — for the moment — the refurbishment has been cancelled.

In the world of Walt Disney World dining, Be Our Guest Restaurant has been a guest favorite since day one. But for four days this month, the popular restaurant will close for a brief refurbishment.

Be Our Guest Restaurant

From August 20-24, 2018, Be Our Guest Restaurant will be closed. Guests hoping to snag breakfast, lunch, or dinner as walk-up diners will have to look elsewhere. (We offer some alternatives here!)

For those (like me!) who have eagerly been awaiting the news about booking a reservation for the post-refurbishment California Grill restaurant in Disney’s Contemporary Resort, we’ve got a few new details for you!

Snagging a Table by the Window at California Grill is an Absolute Must!

While there’s no solid date for California Grill to re-open yet, reservations ARE currently available on November 18th. The reservations agent I spoke to said that booking times were also available after this date. (This means that for the next couple of days, you’ll need to have a Disney resort reservation and be calling at exactly 180 days out, using your opportunity to book 10 days after your check-in date in order to make a reservation.)

It’s my guess that they cannot open reservations earlier in the year until they have the final opening date set, but that they’ll be coming soon!

Availability is always subject to change, but I wanted to be sure those of you eager to book were made aware of every last detail. As is often the case with new reservations opening up, your experience could be different (you can see in the comments that some folks have not been able to book) — but keep calling [Read more…]

In addition to the opening on Monsieur Paul Restaurant in December, we can now celebrate the opening of Les Halles Boulangerie!! And we’ve got some incredible photos for you of the new Bakery, as well as the Disney Les Halles Menu! HUGE thanks go out to Michael Burk (@michaellburk) , once again, for sending over these great pics!

Les Halles Ordering Area and Queue -- click for larger image

The new bakery is HUGE compared to the old one, which will soon become Glacier Ice Cream Parlor. Once you enter, you’ll quickly see a long ordering queue line area, digital menus, and lots of yummo pastries waiting for you to choose them!

Les Halles Ordering Queue

The Les Halles menu includes an expanded selection, including pastries, soups, sandwiches (both hot and cold), salads, and more.

The Pumpkin Soup and Lobster Bisque are definitely on my list to try!

Les Halles Menu -- Soups, Sandwiches, Salads, and Specialties

Um…I’ll take one of everything on this pastries/desserts menu, please… [Read more…]

Chef Brian Piasecki reveals a few details of the upcoming renovation of the popular California Grill at Disney’s Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World!

This high-end restaurant offers exquisite cuisine and top-notch fireworks viewing, but we’ll have to find another signature spot to dine for the first half of 2013! According to the DisneyParks Blog, we finally have a solid date for the restaurant’s closure that we reported earlier this year.

California Grill will close in early 2013, and re-open in the late summer. Save us a spot at this window table! 😉

Great view from California Grill

Menu and Other Updates

While the menu will undergo some tweaking, a fresh, seasonal menu with top-of-the-line sushi will continue to be the main focus of the kitchen.

The continued use of creative flavors and techniques will allow chefs to [Read more…]

Andy over at Eating (and Drinking) Around WDW got the inside scoop on a bunch of news coming out of the Japan pavilion in Epcot! Here are the main subjects, but be sure to head over to his site for details!

Katsura Grill and Gardens Replaces Yakitori House

The Yakitori House, now closed for refurbishment, will reemerge as Katsura Grill (menu will stay essentially the same, Andy says), and the beautiful gardens next door will be refurbished as well!

The Yakitori House in Epcot's Japan Pavilion Will See Some Changes

Japan Food & Wine Festival Booth Being Used as a Stand-In Counter-Service Spot

Those of us familiar with the Japan Booth will recognize the structure and sign here! It’s serving a limited menu of [Read more…]

To their credit, Kouzzina was only closed for refurbishment for a few weeks, so we’re excited that anything happened in that time! That said… The Kouzzina dining room will still be large, loud, and barn-like — not bad, just not all that different from what it was. The addition of an olive oil tasting at the beginning of each meal is great, but, again, two olive oils [Read more…]